I am voting “no” on the North Carolina bond referendum. You may want to think about doing the same.

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Comments

Earl:
You make a good point about county government's statutory responsibility for renovation of normal wear and tear on community college campuses. COA's board of trustees keeps our four host counties informed of these needs. Counties served by the college, but not hosting a campus, have a moral responsibility for the upkeep of facilities that serve hundreds of their residents. Gates County, for instance, provides the college just $10,000 annually for this purpose.
Many facility needs are simply out of reach for small, struggling county governments. Renovation of the moldy, outdated library at COA's Elizabeth City campus, will cost almost $3 million. This exceeds the entire annual amount supplied by all seven counties for the maintenance of the four campuses that comprise the college.
At ECSU, Moore hall is almost 100 years old. The GR Little Library is 45 years old. If ECSU can bring its enrollment back to where it was four years ago, these two buildings, slated for renovations in the bond issue, will play an important role in educating students from all over Northeastern North Carolina.
If approved, the $2 billion in bonds will be issued over three to four years. The Republican administration in Raleigh has been so aggressive in paying down the state's debt, which peaked in 2012, that North Carolina will have LESS general obligation debt in 2020 than it does now.
I've already voted "Yes" on the bond issue.
Doug Gardner
COA Trustee